When Senate bill 1303 was passed by the Virginia legislature and signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam, it was done under a set of assumptions that have proven wrong. They expected most students to be able to be vaccinated. Children under 12 are still ineligible, and many of those who CAN be vaccinated haven’t been. They also did NOT anticipate the increased transmissibility of Covid-19 variants such as Delta. Finally, they don’t seem to have given adequate thought to the fact that virtually every school district in Virginia is understaffed, in every category, in some cases severely.

So, what does this mean? Overcrowded busses and classrooms with no possibility of maintaining the social distancing recommended by the CDC. A constant revolving-door of students, and staff, in quarantine. Rooms and buildings that have virtually no time to be deep cleaned, even if they had the staff, because custodians are in short supply too. Parents missing time from work, teachers missing time from work, students falling behind in their studies…enough! Parents, students, and staff alike are stressed out, worn out, and at their wits end!

Please either give us back our asynchronous Wednesdays, or allow a return to half-day Wednesdays. The success of our scholars depends on their being able to keep up with their coursework, and right now, they can’t. If we once again had one day in which our schools could be deep-cleaned, it would help keep transmission rates down. This is even more crucial as we enter cold and flu season. But most importantly, the mental health and well-being of every single human being who is a part of our school system is riding on this.